To the Gunnison County Commissioners From Concerned Citizens of the Valley We are writing to you about Colorado Stone Quarries' 2018 and 2019 Clean Water Act and Mining violations related to Yule Creek because we wanted to be sure that you were aware of an upcoming opportunity for the County to weigh in on what actions might be required by the Army Corps of Engineers to address and possibly remediate the impacts of prior violations by the company, which we encourage the County to take advantage of. As we are sure you are aware, in the fall of 2018, Colorado Stone Quarries (CSQ), owned by Italian company, re-directed 1500 feet of Yule Creek, a tributary of the Crystal River just outside of Marble, from its original stream bed to a dredged channel containing marble blocks on the other side of a ridge, and filled the original streambed with fill material and built a mining road on top of it. We wanted to share with you video evidence of these violations. https://youtu.be/qK3fvmNLFCk Because this was done without proper permits and oversight by the Army Corps of Engineers, the Army Corps district office based in Grand Junction cited the company for a violation of the Clean Water Act on March 5, 2020. See https://www.aspentimes.com/news/marble-quarry-operators-violated-cleanwater-act-army-corps-of-engineers-finds/ In 2019, the company was also cited by the Colorado State Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety for state mining permit violations for an October 2019 diesel spill on their property, for an unauthorized release of pollutants into groundwater and a failure to minimize disturbance to water quality. The spill resulted from CSQ’s unapproved relocation of generators and diesel-fuel tanks that were not put in secondary containment structures in their new locations. The state agency fined the company $18,600, and is requiring that quarry operators continue to clean up the site, including removal of hydrocarbons from the soil, and to conduct long term water quality monitoring. Current status: Colorado Stone Quarries has now applied to the Army Corps for an “individual” Clean Water Act permit to authorize what it has already done, something it should have applied for and received before undertaking the dredging and filling of the Creek it already did in October of 2018. The Army Corps is considering what to require from the company in order to address the company’s CWA violations and to remediate the damages to Yule Creek and the adjacent riparian habitat that were decimated by CSQ’s actions. Actions the Army Corps could require the company to take could include returning the Creek to its original alignment, or simply requiring some compensatory restoration actions to be undertaken. The Army Corps has asked CSQ to gather additional information related to the aquatic resources impacted on the site, and is currently waiting for a response from the quarry company before deciding what further action to take. Once the company’s proposal has been reviewed by the Army Corps, the Corps will issue a public notice, which will initiate a 30 day public notice, review and comment period, which could occur as early as August 2020. The actions taken by this company over the past several years have not only violated CSQ’s state of Colorado mining permit and federal law, but also have significantly damaged Yule Creek and its adjacent environment. The company’s actions have also put at risk the water quality and health of the Crystal River, as Yule Creek is an important tributary to the Crystal. Residents of the valley are concerned that future negligent or illegal actions taken by this company may put both Yule Creek and the Crystal River at additional risk. Even remedial actions, if not properly designed or carried out, could result in negative impacts downstream. Because of this concern, we believe it is very important for Gunnison County to be at the table during the Army Corps process to ensure that actions are taken in relation to CSQ’s violations and future operations that are protective of Yule Creek and the Crystal River. We would urge you to let the Army Corps project manager, Ben Wilson, know that the County is an interested party and would want to be notified in advance of any actions that the Army Corps will be taking to address CSQ’s Clean Water Act 404 violations in relation to Yule Creek. Susan Nall is the Chief of the Army Corps Section responsible for this part of Colorado. Her contact information is Susan.Nall@usace.army.mil, 970-243-1199, ext. 1016. Ben Wilson is the Army Corps’ lead Project Manager on the Corps’ enforcement action against CSQ. His contact information is Benjamin.R.Wilson@usace.army.mil, 970-2431199, ext. 1012. We thank you for your attention to this important matter.